In this episode historian Dr. Shailaja Paik discusses the factors that have impacted Dalit women's access to and quality of education in India over time.

‘In Perspective’ is The Swaddle’s podcast series where academics reveal little-known facts about Indian history, society and culture.

Notes:

00:00:40:00- Why do mainstream feminists and dalit men believe that dalit women are more ‘liberated’ than high caste women? What are the problems with this though pattern?

00:04:55:12- What is ‘Dalit femininity’ and ‘oppressed sexuality,’ and how do we interrogate and understand these two?

00:07:20:00- How was ‘a new Dalit womanhood’ forged in Colonial India? What role did social reformers like Jyotirao Phule and Dr B.R Ambedkar play in it?

00:16:04:00- What kind of culture did upper-caste Marathi elite constitute in 20th century Maharashtra? How did it reinforce inequality in ‘high’ and ‘low’ communities and culture?

00:21:47:00- How did women’s education in India change their views about themselves?

00:27:47:00- How did Dalit women have power relationships in the wider society, and how do these relationships have a bearing on the access and quality of education?

00:33:18:00- How was the access and quality of education in formal institutions received by Dalit girls?

00:37:23:00- What was the prevailing view about access for Dali women?

00:40:00:00- What direction does academic research, especially Indian historical research, need to take to tell stories and to unearth research?

In this episode,  historian, writer and filmmaker Lata Mani discusses colonial debates on sati, feminist discourse online, and why we need to engage with spiritual thought critically.

‘In Perspective’ is The Swaddle’s podcast series where academics reveal little-known facts about Indian history, society and culture. 

Notes: 

00:00:40:00- Can progressive aspects of religious faith and practices be used to advocate for the cause of social justice?

00:09:49:00- Why is it important to engage with religion in a  critical way?

00:15:24:00- Why do you think it's important to engage with religion? What value does it have to discourse in our country ?

00:21:49:00- What were the factors at play when it came to social reform related to women in colonial India? How much of a role did women's welfare play, and how much agency did they have? 

00: 27:25:00- How do different feminist discourses converge? 

00:33:00:00-  What are ways to embody a feminism that is an oppositional force? What are the ways in which we can implement this in the way we practice feminist politics? 

00:35:51:00-- What role does suffering play in the imagination and creation of solidarity? How do we ensure the autonomy of dignity from suffering?

In this episode, historian Dr. Anshu Malhotra discusses reformist bazaar literature, the attack against the native 'dai' and the writings of the Sufi poetess Piro, in colonial Punjab.

‘In Perspective’ is The Swaddle’s podcast series where academics reveal little-known facts about Indian history, society and culture.

Notes:

00:00:40:00- How did the rise of print media lead to new forms of ‘bazaar’ literature in colonial Punjab, and how did this become a common yet complex site for social reform?

00:01:49:00- Who was ‘Piro,’ and what made her writing in life an act of resistance against the arbitrary hierarchy of gender, caste and religion?

00:05:50:00- Why was there a Colonial attack on ‘dais’ in nineteenth century Punjab? How did ‘scientific’ midwifery become a marker of middle-class status?

00:07:23:12- How did Lala Lajpat Rai’s writings discuss the fundamental reasons for women’s oppression? Did his writings impact the notions of womanhood in India?

00:26:07:00- How did Sikh reformers try to shape the idea of the 'new woman'? Did this differ from popular notions of womanhood supported by Hindu reformers?